Bridgeport offering prescription discounts

Updated 9:50 am, Thursday, January 30, 2014

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Bridgeport is providing prescription discount cards (pictured) to city residents. The card will provide uninsured and underinsured residents savings on prescription medications. The card also gives residents price breaks on hearing aids, eye exams and some pet medications. less

Bridgeport is providing prescription discount cards (pictured) to city residents. The card will provide uninsured and underinsured residents savings on prescription medications. The card also gives residents ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

Bridgeport offering prescription discounts

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BRIDGEPORT -- A new prescription discount card could save city residents anywhere from 10 to 80 percent on medication costs -- provided they don't accidentally throw it in the trash.

This week, many Bridgeport residents received a postcard from the city with the discount card set within it. At first glance, it looks like your typical, useless piece of bulk mail. But Mayor Bill Finch said it's anything but.

Instead, it's a free card available to all city residents that offers discounts on a variety of medications and other services.

The program is geared toward those without prescription coverage, or whose insurance doesn't cover certain drugs. It also provides discounts on other medical services, including hearing aids, eye exams and even some pet medications.

The sweeping health reform known as the Affordable Care Act is set to provide insurance coverage, including coverage of prescription drugs, to more people. But there are still those who will be uninsured, and those whose plans don't cover certain medications. "We know prescription costs are still an issue for many of our residents," Finch said.

More Information

Discount informationIf you're a Bridgeport resident and haven't received a card, or want to know which pharmacies accept the card, visit CTRxDiscountCard.com

About 21 pharmacies in Bridgeport and surrounding towns will accept the card, including Lupes Drug Store and Hancock Pharmacy in Bridgeport, and local branches of chain pharmacies, such as Rite Aid, Stop & Shop and Walgreens.

Savings range from 10 to 30 percent for brand name prescriptions to 40 to 80 percent on generic prescriptions.

Bridgeport is offering the card through a partnership with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which launched the discount card program in September 2012 in collaboration with the Syracuse, N.Y.-based ProAct, Inc., a pharmacy benefit management company. CCM had been looking to provide a discount card for residents of its member cities for several years, said Gina Calabro, CCM director of member services and marketing.

The conference chose the ProAct program because it's offered at no cost to municipalities or consumers. Instead, the program is largely funded by the participating pharmacies.

"We're very happy to have Bridgeport be a part of this," Calabro said. "We think this is a great program. People may have medical insurance. They may even have prescription even. But there are things that aren't covered."

That includes pet medications, some of which are eligible for the discount. Calabro said the animal meds have a particularly popular offering in other cities and towns with the discount program.

A total of 112 Connecticut municipalities have the discount program, including Danbury, Monroe, Ansonia, Derby and Seymour.

Calabro said CCM is looking to expand the program to more places, including Fairfield (some municipalities, such as Stratford and Trumbull, aren't CCM members and aren't eligible for this particular program). Almost $2.7 million has been saved on prescriptions by state residents, with an average savings of 53 percent.

But some local health providers pointed out that, though the discount program will be helpful for some, it's not the only game in town when it comes to saving money on medication.

Karen Gottlieb, executive director of AmeriCares Free Clinics, said many retailers, including Walmart and Target, offer generic prescription programs that offer some medications at $4 for a 30-day supply and $10 for a 90-day supply.

Bill Hoey, vice president of mission and ethics for St. Vincent's Health Services, offered similar thoughts. He said the discount card is a good option, but not the only option.

"Anything that helps people gain access to medication is a good thing," he said. "But a well-educated consumer is the best consumer."